Dentist who used paper clips faces sentencing

FALL RIVER, Mass. — A former Massachusetts dentist faces sentencing for using sections of paper clips instead of stainless steel posts in root canals in an effort to save money.

Michael Clair is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in Fall River Superior Court after pleading guilty to defrauding Medicaid of $130,000. He is also charged with assault and battery, illegally prescribing prescription drugs and witness intimidation.

Some of Clair's patients reported infections after he performed root canals on them.

The 53-year-old Clair, who had a dental practice in Fall River, now lives in Crofton, Md.

Prosecutors say he was suspended by Medicaid in 2002, but continued filing claims by using the names of other dentists in his practice. His license to practice dentistry was suspended in Massachusetts in 2006.